Chapter 151

 Several hours earlier.

After learning the details of the competition, Wu Shu had already formed her plan. Rather than wandering around aimlessly searching for the giant eel, it would be better to secretly trail the team that had the means to locate it and wait patiently for the right moment to strike.

For example, the Crown Prince’s team. Someone within his group could control aberrant beasts, so they were the most likely team to find the giant eel the fastest.

Coincidentally, her team and the Royal Team had both been assigned to the western side of Amber Lake. Although the competition officials had deliberately led her team in a different direction to prevent early clashes, it still wouldn’t be difficult for her to track down the Royal Team.

Not long after the match had begun, Wu Shu quickly noticed something unusual about Amber Lake. Strange ripples spread across the lake’s surface, signaling that someone had already engaged the giant eel in battle.

She was highly skilled in observation and tracking. She immediately pinpointed the exact area of water, but instead of taking a boat onto the lake, she carefully made her way to the shore closest to where the giant eel had surfaced. Using the forest as cover, she concealed herself and quietly observed the situation.

The giant eel used its massive, elongated body to generate a vortex, trapping its prey at the center of the water and crushing it. Even Ye Zheng, who was adept at controlling water, didn’t seem able to deal with it easily.

Wu Shu let out a faint chuckle and remained on the shore, calmly watching as the Royal Team fell into danger. She had promised Ye Zheng she’d help her, but something like this shouldn’t require her assistance.

Besides, Ye Zheng had said she’d contact her if she needed help. Although Wu Shu couldn’t imagine what method Ye Zheng would use to reach her.

There were no communication devices here. Could she have sent her younger brother to pass along a message?

Wu Shu shook her head and set the thought aside for the moment. Suddenly, she noticed the surging waves on the lake rise violently as though triggered by something, then slowly settle back down. Another boat drifted over and gradually approached the Royal Team’s damaged vessel.

Wu Shu’s heart skipped a beat as a bad premonition flickered through her mind.

The direction that boat was approaching from… was it the Cloud Soarers team?

Wen Xiaoxing from the Cloud Soarers team was suspected of wanting to harm Ye Zheng. She had promised Ye Zheng she’d keep watch on him, but if she suddenly showed herself now, it would seem extremely suspicious.

More importantly… Wu Shu recalled what Ye Zheng had told her before the match, and her expression grew even more serious.

“I do need you to be ready to kill someone, but… it might not be Wen Xiaoxing.”

“It’s Pei Xi.”

Why would it be Pei Xi? He had no reason to take action against Saintess Ye Zheng. And what reason did Ye Zheng have to make preparations against him?

Wu Shu couldn’t make sense of it for the time being. She and Ye Zheng had only worked together once within an aberrant realm, and there had been very little overlap between them. Moreover, the Ye Zheng she had encountered felt somewhat detached from the Saintess Ye Zheng whom everyone praised.

It wasn’t only the ordinary citizens of the Lower District. Even her own useless teammates, who came from relatively privileged backgrounds, had completely accepted her as the hope sent down by the gods after personally witnessing that Holy Verdict. In their hearts, she was the Empire’s one and only miracle.

But the Ye Zheng she had actually come into contact with was, how should she put it, not a flawless and holy Saintess, but a real person, someone who could feel worry and tension, and who moved with extreme caution.

Even though Wu Shu had no interest in digging deeply into how Ye Zheng had earned all that praise, she was certain that Ye Zheng hadn’t reached where she was today simply by relying on the favor of the gods. This kind of formidable capability was far more valuable than any so-called divine halo.

Thinking of this, Wu Shu suddenly let out a self-mocking laugh. In the end, she wasn’t any different from those blindly fanatical ordinary people. The moment she had agreed to cooperate with Ye Zheng, hadn’t she also become one of Ye Zheng’s believers?

They barely even qualified as casual acquaintances, yet she believed Ye Zheng when she said, “I’ll help you win until the very end.”

Wu Shu took a slightly uneasy breath. So, from Ye Zheng’s perspective, if the mysterious Wen Xiaoxing wanted to kill her, she would definitely make every possible preparation. What if Wen Xiaoxing’s ability countered hers? What if Wen Xiaoxing had helpers?

And even worse, what if she ended up being killed by Wen Xiaoxing in an irreversible situation…

Suddenly, Wu Shu’s eyelids twitched, and her pupils contracted sharply as she stared at the boats on the distant lake surface. At some point, ripples had once again appeared on the lake. Was the giant eel launching another attack so soon, or was someone deliberately manipulating this stretch of water?

She understood now. Ye Zheng needed her to kill Pei Xi to trigger the time regression!

So Ye Zheng also knew this secret. That was why she had asked her to prepare to kill Pei Xi. In the worst-case scenario, if Wen Xiaoxing killed her, Pei Xi’s time regression could reverse that outcome.

Wu Shu took out a pair of binoculars from her backpack. The escaped giant eel couldn’t possibly return to attack again in such a short time. The abnormality on the lake surface was very likely caused by Ye Zheng, she was already fighting Wen Xiaoxing.

Through the lenses, she clearly saw the two people standing at the bow of the boat.

The slightly shorter boy suddenly fell onto the deck as if tripped by something. His body was quickly dragged toward the broken section of the railing, and half of it was already being pulled into the turbulent lake water.

Even so, Wu Shu didn’t relax in the slightest. She shifted the binoculars slightly. Through the lenses, she saw the side profile of Ye Zheng’s face carrying a faint, almost imperceptible smile. But Wu Shu knew she wasn’t letting her guard down either.

She watched as Ye Zheng raised her gun and fired several shots at Wen Xiaoxing in the water. At the same time, streams of water pierced through his body, stabbing straight into his heart. The bullets and water currents dealt fatal damage together.

There was no way he could survive. Ye Zheng had already won. It looked like she wouldn’t need to step in after all.

Wu Shu’s lips curved into a fleeting smile, and she was just about to lower the binoculars when she suddenly felt that something wasn’t right. She raised them again.

…Why had the person standing at the bow of the boat become Wen Xiaoxing?

Her body reacted faster than her thoughts. Wu Shu instantly activated her teleportation. This kind of long-distance movement would drain most of her strength, but she didn’t have time to think anymore!

Kill Pei Xi, trigger the time regression, and save Ye Zheng!

On the gently rocking boat, the young men were staring at the surface of the lake in confusion and vigilance. No one had expected the giant eel to strike again so quickly and whip up another vortex.

But this time, before they could even locate the giant eel, the lake had already gone still, as if the violent waves from moments ago had been nothing more than a passing breeze.

Pei Xi had no mind to think about the strange vortex that had suddenly appeared. At that moment, Wen Xiaoxing was slung over his shoulder, chattering nonstop with a grin. He couldn’t focus on a single word.

He only felt that something very important had been forgotten…

“Pei Xi, let’s hurry and track down that big fish. We can’t let it escape.”

“You could turn into a big metal skewer and make an eel kebab or something… right?”

Wen Xiaoxing’s smile suddenly stiffened on his face. A chilling killing intent brushed across the back of his neck. An unexpected figure had appeared right before his eyes.

Pei Xi felt a cold sensation at his throat. He lowered his gaze and saw a dagger pressed against it.

He slowly lifted his eyes. Wu Shu’s cold expression filled his vision.

Their gazes met. Both of them saw confusion reflected in the other’s eyes.

Pei Xi stiffened his neck and carefully turned the skin beneath the dagger into metal. He asked in disbelief, “Wu Shu, what are you doing?”

Hearing his question, Wu Shu’s eyes widened. She slowly lowered the dagger and looked around in bewilderment.

Strange. Why was she here?

Wu Shu tried to explain, but the moment she opened her mouth, unfamiliar words slipped out. “Ye Zheng…”

Wu Shu immediately shut her mouth. The confusion in her eyes deepened. What Ye Zheng?

“…I get it now. Captain Wu Shu, did you see that we had an accident and came over to help?”

Wen Xiaoxing squeezed himself in between the two of them, blinking his deep green eyes. Wu Shu stared straight into his eyes and felt an inexplicable irritation, along with a restless itch in her hands. The other party was clearly nothing more than a fairly friendly stranger.

How could she possibly have come here to help? Wu Shu felt as though she must’ve forgotten something crucial, but at this moment she could only follow along with this explanation for her actions.

Wu Shu put on a warm and concerned expression and started chatting with Pei Xi. Pei Xi felt somewhat uneasy. After all, Wu Shu had nearly killed him just a moment ago. Her ability was almost impossible to defend against. If she had been even slightly faster, he’d probably have already triggered his time regression by now.

He turned to glance at Wen Xiaoxing, only to realize that the usually talkative Wen Xiaoxing had gone quiet and was now slowly walking behind the two of them.

Wen Xiaoxing lowered his head, his brows drawn tight. His dark green eyes revealed both a fierce edge and lingering fear. That Wu Shu was definitely a backup plan left behind by Ye Zheng!

What a cunning woman. If Wu Shu had truly killed the main world’s Pei Xi and triggered the regression, Ye Zheng might’ve had a chance to return.

Fortunately, once she left this world, 【Fate Singularity】 would also wipe away every trace of her existence. That meant Wu Shu wouldn’t remember Ye Zheng at all, let alone continue helping her.

Besides, Pei Xi’s time regression had a strict limit. Wen Xiaoxing glanced at his watch, a satisfied smile spreading across his face. The time window for Pei Xi’s regression had already expired. Even if Wu Shu killed Pei Xi now, Ye Zheng would never be able to come back!

Wen Xiaoxing stood alone by the railing. He tilted his head up toward the blazing sun, then suddenly lifted his hand and plucked out his left eye.

With a hollow, pitch-black void where his left eye had been, he held up the emerald-green eyeball. Under the sunlight, it looked like a polished gem, refracting a brilliant, dazzling glow.

All at once, a shifting image surfaced within the green eye. The bewildered face of a girl filled the depths of that dark green pupil.

After confirming that Ye Zheng had already fallen into an endless sequence of world-line jumps, Wen Xiaoxing casually pressed the eye back into its socket.

✧✧✧✧✧

As for what she’d forgotten, Wu Shu didn’t have the slightest clue. She knew the Cloud Soarers team definitely wouldn’t welcome her, so she came up with an excuse and got off the boat.

But she kept tracking their movements. Several hours slipped by.

No matter what unfolded, her objective stayed unchanged: to win the championship.

After revealing itself once, the giant eel had already fled to some unknown location. Now the Royal Team and the Cloud Soarers team were forced to remain together. This gave Wu Shu a valuable opportunity.

Once the giant eel showed up again, the two teams would be far more likely to clash with each other than to cooperate completely. She could then take advantage of the chaos with her teleportation, fish in troubled waters, and strike a fatal blow.

Even though those two teams were certainly wary of her, no matter how slim the odds, she had to take the risk.

Wu Shu advanced slowly and patiently along the shoreline. Even though she’d already been lying in wait for nearly four hours, she unexpectedly caught sight of a stretch of yellow-tinged forest in the distance. A strange sensation flickered through her heart.

She should go to that place. Her intuition told her that the opportunity was hidden there.

But why that place? What opportunity? Wu Shu found it ridiculous. Right now, staying close to the Cloud Soarers team and the Royal Team was the key to securing victory.

『Go to that ginkgo grove, Wu Shu.』

This intuition grew stronger and stronger, gradually turning into a voice as tangible as reality.

『The Cloud Soarers team and the Royal Team will clash in that stretch of water. Pei Xi will lose consciousness. You’ll have the chance to kill Pei Xi.』

No, this wasn’t intuition. Someone was speaking to her!

Wu Shu couldn’t even be bothered to remain hidden. She sprang to her feet, only to realize that the voice didn’t seem to come from outside. It sounded as if it were echoing directly inside her mind.

“Why should I kill Pei Xi?”

Wu Shu felt as though the entire world had suddenly turned absurd and unhinged.

『Don’t question why you should kill Pei Xi. Just kill him. Across countless world lines, there will definitely be one “Wu Shu” who achieves victory.』

『For the sake of that Wu Shu attaining final victory, please follow my instructions and carry out the next steps.』

Wu Shu couldn’t make sense of what this person was saying at all. What countless world lines? What one Wu Shu? Were there really many Wu Shus?

“Explain yourself clearly. I can’t possibly trust someone who just appeared out of nowhere!”

Wu Shu spoke sharply, yet after waiting for a long while, the voice didn’t speak again.

That voice didn’t sound like it was addressing her alone, Wu Shu thought. It felt more like a broadcast, aimed at countless people all at once.

She lifted her gaze and looked toward the ginkgo grove, which lay in the complete opposite direction from where the Cloud Soarers team was heading, and sank into deep thought.

That voice was extremely strange. It felt eerily familiar, carrying a kind of strange power that made people unable to resist becoming drawn in and trusting it.

“…Ye Zheng.”

After saying the name once more, Wu Shu felt a peculiar sense of unfamiliarity and confusion as she pressed a hand against her pounding heart.

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Authors Note  

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Besides the help from the system and Wu Shu, Zhengzheng herself will also make a big move. It’s just that the author is writing too slowly… Ugh, stupid flu, hurry up and get better!